Buies Creek, N.C.—Campbell University has announced that its spacious new library will be named Wiggins Memorial Library in memory of former president Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins and in honor of his wife Mildred Harmon Wiggins. Wiggins, Campbell’s third president, passed away in 2007, leaving a legacy of accomplishments which includes the establishment the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in the building where the new library is located. The law school relocated to Raleigh in 2009.
“It is indeed a great honor for the library to be named after one of the most outstanding leaders in the history of Campbell University and his wife,” said Library Director Borree Kwok. “The newly positioned and significantly enhanced library reflects the Wiggins’ passion and vision for education, providing a dynamic learning environment for students, and serving as the center of the University’s intellectual life.”
The library, which also occupies part of Kivett Hall, contains 59,000 square feet and over 241,000 books, journals and government documents, a wireless network of over 110 computers and approximately 1 million microforms. It also contains a vast inventory of audio/visual materials such as CDs, DVDs, VHS, audio books and teaching aid materials.
Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins served as president of Campbell University from 1967-2003. During those decades, he led the school to university status, and, by 2001, Campbell had a thriving and respected four-year undergraduate liberal arts program as well as five professional schools: the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the School of Education and the Campbell Divinity School. In addition, Wiggins established the award-winning Army ROTC program in 1971 that grew to include three other campuses—Fayetteville State University, Methodist University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Campbell also established satellite campuses at Fort Liberty, Pope Air Force Base,Camp Lejeune, Research Triangle Park in Raleigh and a degree program in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during Wiggins’ tenure.
Wiggins served as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina from 1984-85 and as one of the founders of the state Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, he helped secure public tuition grants for North Carolina students. In 2000, Dr. Wiggins was named one of the most outstanding Baptists of the 20th century by the state Baptist publication, “The Biblical Recorder.” He was also recognized as an outstanding North Carolinian in the anthology, “The North Carolina Century: Tar Heels Who Made a Difference, 1900-2000.” He was 83 when he died.
Mildred “Millie” Harmon Wiggins defined the role of First Lady of Campbell University for 37 years, working quietly behind the scenes to support her husband and the Campbell mission. A member of Campbell’s Class of 1948, Millie Wiggins is a native of Coats, N.C. She attended Campbell College, Wake Forest College and Columbia University where she earned, respectively, the Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education. An educator herself, Mrs. Wiggins taught in the Rocky Mount and Winston-Salem public school systems. Among her many honors are Campbell’s Alumni Service Award, received in 1998, and the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, received in 2007.
Photo Copy: Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins and his wife Mildred Harmon Wiggins in 1987